Sherry was currently being confined in the Cold Palace, which made all the other ladies in the Imperial Palace quite worried.
After all, what if the same fate befell them? They all shuddered at the thought of it.
As soon as Monica heard the news, she immediately ordered her servants to close her palace gate at once, refusing to go out
from then on. For as long as she did not try to stir up any trouble, the empress probably wouldn't persecute her.
Meanwhile, Felix headed straight toward the Tranquil Hall after the imperial court session was over. The empress was there
painting a picture of the magnificent spring scenery. When she saw her son arrive, a faint smile crept onto her face. "Right now,
Francis is in prison. And Sherry, on the other hand, is in the Cold Palace. Do you have any thoughts about it?"
"Thoughts?" A strange look flashed across Felix's eyes and he gestured for everyone else present to leave. Soon, they had the
room to themselves—the empress, Felix, and the emperor, who lay motionless on the bed and was still in a coma.
Seeing this, the empress quickly understood that Felix wanted to say something that couldn't be said in front of others or heard
by anyone else.
"So, have you come up with a plan?"
"When is Father going to regain consciousness? What did the imperial physicians say?" Felix asked casually. After he took a
seat, his eyes were fixated on the emperor who had yet to wake up from his coma.
"The imperial physicians couldn't say for certain," the empress replied as she went on painting. "It won't be good for us if he
stays unconscious like this. After all, we have closed off the Tranquil Hall for many days. I'm pretty sure those officials must be
starting to feel suspicious about it, especially after what Francis said during today's court session."
Felix's face turned into a slight frown, and he exclaimed, "Mother, I want to be the emperor!"
When the emperor heard this, her hand froze in the air and then the smile on her face grew even wider and brighter. "Whether
your dream can come into fruition depends on how far you're willing to go to get it."
While Felix was having a conversation with the empress, the old emperor's eyelids suddenly twitched as though he was about to
wake up. However, it only lasted for a fleeting moment and the emperor didn't open his eyes in the end. The mother and son
didn't notice that at all.
"How far?" Felix sneered. "Mother, would you mind elaborating on that?"
"Kill your father, the emperor. Do you have the guts to do such a thing?" the empress asked in a grim tone. If the emperor had a
sudden death, Felix would then be the rightful heir to the throne. It would be much better to let the emperor die instead of just
letting him stay in bed sick all the time. After the emperor's death, Felix would inherit the throne legally. That way, everything
would be done completely above board and out in the open.
For a brief moment, silence filled the air. Then, Felix turned his gaze toward the emperor who was on the bed. "Of course I have
the guts!"
At that time, the empress happened to finish her painting and put down the brush. Holding the canvas up for Felix to see, she
asked, "What do you think of this?"
"It is brimming with life. Everything is brought to life by the verdant green. It is quite a vivid painting of the spring scenery." Felix
smiled as he said. Since the emperor's death had been set in stone, there was no longer any need for them to keep up
appearances. However, the emperor couldn't die right away. Otherwise those ministers would, without a doubt, suspect that he
killed the emperor. After all, Francis had just accused him of having malicious intent in front of the public.
As the empress looked at the picture she painted, a smile crept onto her face. "His Majesty had been stuck in a coma for quite a
while. He grew weaker and weaker, and finally succumbed to his illness three days later. What do you think?"
"That would probably be the most fitting end for him, Mother. I'll let Uncle know later. If anyone dares to question it, that person
must be executed. I'm the rightful heir to the throne and Uncle holds military power. I am sure everything will certainly go
according to our plan."
The two of them became so engrossed in their plan, picturing out what was going to happen. So much so, that they failed to
notice how the emperor's eyelids twitched as they discussed how they were going to kill him.
Poking Matthew, Harper said in a low voice, "Felix wanted to kill the emperor."
Matthew simply nodded his head in response, without saying a word. For as long as the emperor was alive, Felix would always
remain to be the crown prince no matter how powerful he might be. Although Felix was the one temporarily in charge of the
empire and all of its affairs, it still didn't belong to him. Only when the emperor was gone would the crown prince be able to sit on
the throne and become the real emperor.
"Did you hear it yourself that Felix was planning to kill your brother?"
Hearing this, Matthew nodded his head once more with a blank look on his face. Truth be told, he really couldn't care less about
all these things. The empress and Felix already had all the right pieces but they just couldn't piece it all together. If they were
planning to do it, they should have done it much earlier. If they managed to kill the emperor on the same day he went into a
coma, then Felix would have taken the throne right away. But now, it was a bit too late to do that. The emperor had regained
consciousness and they failed to notice this and even discussed their plans to kill him in front of the emperor himself. They
seemed to have death wishes.
"Are Matthew and his wife still in the Holy Chant Temple at the moment?" the empress asked all of a sudden.
Felix then nodded his head and replied, "My guard has been keeping me posted. They have been staying in the Holy Chant
Temple the entire time. It seems that they are serious when they said they wanted to pray for Father's recovery. I find it hard to
believe. Setting aside what Harper was thinking, I can't imagine how Uncle Matthew would do anything like that at all."
"They probably just didn't want to take sides in this power struggle!" the empress remarked, glancing at Felix. "Since Matthew
didn't want to have anything to do with it, he decided to take his wife to the Holy Chant Temple. I wonder if the people around
Matthew..."
"Mother," Felix cut the empress off before she could say anything further. Given the fact that this was such a crucial moment,
they would have to be very careful not to mention anything about it. They had swapped the real Harper with a fake one in secret.
If Matthew were to find out about it, there was no doubt that he would take his people back to the imperial capital at once. If that
happened, he would never be able to become the emperor even if his father died, because Matthew would definitely send him to
hell to be reunited with his father.
"You are being rather discreet, and you should be. That's perfectly fine. Practicing caution will not do you any harm." Upon
saying that, the empress got on her feet, wearing a peculiar smile on her face. Walking across the room, she stopped by the bed,
placed her hand on its edge and lightly pressed it. A small drawer suddenly popped out from the edge of the bed, and inside it
was a white porcelain vial. The empress then took it out.